of the building. and by the time our folks got here, it was well involved. >> you have done a good job. right now, they are going inside, making sure, looking at the damage, checking for hot spots. we appreciate all the work that you have done today. thank you so much. no injuries that we know of, at this point. the fire is basically out. they are just checking for hot spots. >> all right. thank you. certainly, we saw just that thick, black smoke in the air, earlier today. >> right. let's check in with our meteorologist to look at the wind conditions, specifically in the fremont area. >> reporter: currently, as we look in the vicinity of the fire, we do have very light winds being reported. fremont now, out of the north-northwest, 3 miles per hour. relative humidity, 62%. temperature is 53 degrees. with the wind from the north history northwest at 3. it was north-north easterly earlier, but it has been light.

once again, the wind light in the vicinity of that fire. i will be back with a look at the forecast, which includes the possibility of frost. i will show you the frost advisory, how cold tonight and unsettled weather in the accu-weather seven-day forecast. how many days of rain, coming up. >> thanks. see you shortly. debbie tweeted photoings to us. we spoke to debbie. she works across the street from the fire. she told us she heard the roof collapse and then saw the debris falling. take a look at this video. this was sent to you report it. that's the thick, black smoke we have been talking about. but it's an important complex in the foreground. and the smoke pouring from the building, behind t. no injuries aren'ted at the scene -- reported at the scene. no one's gone to the hospital with respiratory problems. we have posted videos and photos on our web site.

>> ominous looking at the sky. now at 4:00, a surprise in washington. u.n. ambationz dorsusan rice has taken herself out of the running for the secretary of state. >> she had been the frontrunner the federal post. she faced criticism from senate republicans who have taken issue with her initial statements about the u.s. consulate attack in benghazi, libya. rice submitted a letter to president obam apredicting the confirmation process would be lengthy, time consuming and costly. noting the unfairness of the attacks, massachusetts senator, john kerry is now the projected frontrunner for that post. >> the unscheduled fiscal cliff meeting at the white house between president obama and babe bane is over. no word of progress. the two met for about an hour this afternoon. this was their first face-to-face talk since sunday. mr. obama and boehner have struggled to make the impasse over taxes. the president wants tax rates to

rise for the top 2% of income earners, which boehner is opposed to. the deal must be reached by december 31 to avoid the fiscal cliff, which would trigger a series of tax increases and spending cuts. >> a controversial facebook posting, by sergeant carl tnchts of himself, riding through the broadway tunnel and claimed he was with others in a lamborghini, going 100 miles per hour and said they were all drunk. today the chief says he is outraged. >> obviously, it is beyond irresponsible and dumb. i was out of town yesterday, so my first act to get back was to reassign the sergeant out of patrol. nobody with such poor judgment should be around the younger officers. >> sergeant carl tnchts, who legally changed his name is on desk duty, pending an investigation into this incident. >> there is disbelief and anguish over the state's threat

to shut down an institution for hundreds of patients with severe disabilities in sonoma. >> the state moved to yank the license of the facility yesterday. we have the latest on the for only on abc7 news. >> reporter: families are devastated by the decision of state regulators to de-certify sonoma developmental centers boarding care facilities for some 300 residents with intellectual disabilities. the state public health department, which monitors health and safety at the five developmental centers concluded that patients have been repeatedly put at risk of injury, sexual abuse and even death at the facility. the health department's decision would mean shutting down a major portion of the institution. the program that cares for severely disabled patient who is are not bedridden, but live on the premise. the action comes after a series of reports about abuses and lax investigations at the facility, which abc7 news and its media

partner, california watch, exposed exposed this past year. they include an incident in the fall of last year, where a dozen patients at the center had been tasered. the office of protective services, the facility's internal police force, discovered a taser gun in the car of a staff member. he was later fired. but no criminal charges were filed against him or anybody else. decertification would mean the loss of tens of millions of dollars in medicaid funding for the program. the department of developmental services says it will appeal the decision, as it strives to make changes in the program. during the appeals process, the sonoma center can remain open, as it continues to receive federal funding. >> an all clear was given after two cupertino schools were closed due to a bomb threat. this morning, graffiti was discovered at lynbrook high school. >> that referenced a bomb square

in cupertino. because of its close proximity to the high school, lincoln elementary was also shut down. police made sure the teacher named in the graffiti is protected. >> there is a deputy or two, staying with the teacher and his family at this point. to ensure his safety and the safety of his family members. he is holding up quite well. >> no device was found at the school. police are investigating to determine who made that threat. classes at both schools will resume tomorrow. >> the city of san francisco has asked a judge to dismiss a constitutional challenge that the city's public nudity ban. city attorney filed the motion and dropped the suit in u.s. district court. the ordinance passed earlier this month and bans nudity on public street, sidewalks and public transit and goes into effect february 1. >> joseph crienz has been named the chief of police. he has been serving as interim chief since july. he has 32 years of experience.

his appointment is effective on saturday. >> got a couple of sports articles. the giants are bringing back a familiar face. >> they signed an descres torresto a deal worth $2 bhillion. he was in the 2010 championship run and was traded to the mets. torres is expected to be in a deal. >> the talk of the nba, in the victory over the nba champions in miami has gotten everybody's attention. david lee's playing great. 22 points, the warriors showing toughness. lee, hammering lebron james. they called it a flafrant foul. but he stayed in the game. that's the game-winning play. 97-95 and with less than a second left, lebron james tried to go for the tie -- no good. and the warriors pull off a

stunning victory in miami. they are on a road trip. next stop tomorrow in orlando. >> their success on the road really phenomenal. >> remarkable for a team that hasn't had this kind of a roll for quite a while. it's fun to watch. >> still ahead, another leadership shake-up at yahoo. we are investigating the plot to kill a super star, justin bieber. >> consumer complaints and a warning from police. >> our first check of traffic. looking at the skyway in dun town san francisco, it is bumper to bumper in both directionses on the bay bridge, heading to the east bay. the other side, trying to get to the peninsula and 101 south. it is slow in both directions. stay with us. stay with us. more to come on abc7 at 4:00. ak in very old habits

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>> promising news for the housing market. industry analysts says it's returning to normal. >> 7300 new and existing homes were sold last month. that's down a little from october, but up 15 1/2 percent from a year ago. the median price for a hom last month was $438,000, up 20% from november of 2011. the number of homes sold in the bay area for half a million dollars was up 36%. >> google maps and apple dwises are back together. the app return to the itunes store, allowing ipad and iphone users to use the mapping program, nearly three

months after apple replaced it with its own mapping app, plagued with wrong and missing information. on monday, australian police warned users not to use apple maps after rescuing people strand in the wilderness because they followed the apple map directions. >> we want to thank all of you for making the share your holiday food drive a great success. >> you donated more than $22,000 to bay area food banks yesterday, translating to food for 70,000 people. >> our share your holiday food drive continues through december 31. you can donate. 1-877-37 mr. the need is as great as it has ever been. >> absolutely. we saw major changes. sandy warned us it would be cold. >> we are shivering!

>> i know. you will be shivering again tomorrow morning. we are looking at frost advisories overnight tonight. let me show you a live picture. the temperatures dropped down below freezing in some of our inland valleys. and weare heading out in towards another night of chill. a live picture from emeryville. you can see a few cloud there is. moisture from yesterday's system, heated by the sun. and the result has been -- check out the live doppler 7 hd, a few showers have developed between gilroy and holister. we have moisture on mt. st. helena. you can see from gilroy towards holister, we have isolated shower, brief downpours and small hail not out of the question. this will be out of here by the time the sun goes down. the temperatures look like this, in the 50s and on the cool side. 50 degrees in fremont. only 52 in san francisco. and san jose. fairfield, 52 degrees.

here are the highlights. another frosty night, inland. light rain tomorrow. we are looking at bigger storms. it is really going to be an unsettled pattern. as you look at the frost advisory. it goes up for the ace bay interior valleys, 2:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m., the temperatures are expected to drop down, throw mid 30s. watch out for frosty windshields and slippery sidewalks as patchy frost is expected to form heading into the number. by morning, down to 33 in livermore, 34 in fairfield. 34 in santa rosa. nap, 33 degrees. the only thing that will save you from dropping too loy in the north bay is the cloud cover in advance of the rain. let's check out the storm system. this is the one producing rain for us for your friday. cold with light rain on friday. in the morning, it's a chance. and then really develops by the afternoon. series of storms lined up in the pacific the next 7 days.

we will be seeing that wet weather. ahead, tonight, 7:00 p.m., we are looking at clear skies. as we head into tomorrow, light rain expected for your friday. as we head into saturday and sunday, in more light rain coming in. sierra will see snow as we see the colder storms. monday's going to be wet and windy with another storm moving in. really, showers continue with another storm, the strongest of the series, coming in on wednesday night, going into thursday. so this is going to be unsettled. highs for tomorrow, chilly. upper 40s to low 50s in most areas. as we check out the forecast, it is unsettled. light rain for the weekend. we will see milder weather in the mornings. cold showers on tuesday and rain is likely wednesday night into thursday, as i mentioned. staying on the cool side, temperatures mainly in the 50s. >> unsettled is code word for

weak? >> we are not offending anyone who enjoys the rain. >> that's a little better. we are going to bloomberg, now, right? big changes to the yahoo board. apple loses on one legal front, reaching a settlement on other another. >> live from bloomberg west. >> reporter: yeah, guys. marissa meyer remaking the yahoo board. in the statement, meyer praised the strong product and tech expertise and two other executives are leaving, the intuit ceo and the weather channel ceo are gone, effective immediately. yahoo's 11 board member, odd numbers are good on eye board. and they have revamped their email and the flicker photo-sharing service this week. apple is on the end of a losing end of a patents lawsuit. fining that the apple iphone infringed on three patents held

by mobile media ideas, a patent holding company held by sony and nokia, related to the iphone camera and the way it accepts and rejects calls. a separate trial will determine damages. apple did not comment. in other news -- more legal news for apple, four publishers have settled anti-trust investigations in europe and the european union over ebook price fixing. aple and the publishers will drop the pricing agreements, aimed to undercut amazon, to restore normal, competitive conditions to the ebook market. apple and mcmillan and penguin are facing a similar probe in the u.s. testing the new blackberry 10 phones. u.s. immigrations and customs will start to test the devices next year. it's interesting because they said they would buy iphones earlier. now they say they will use both devices.

turning to trading, stocks lowers with the fiscal cliff impasse overshadowing retail agains in sales. apple and oracle leading the decline. today, san francisco start up uber seems to be a threat to new york city cab drivers, approving a one-year pilot program to allow people to hail cabs with their mobile phones, which is exactly what uber does for car services. the program will start in early february. in san francisco, i'm corey johnson with bloomberg west. back to you. >> all right. thank you. up next, it is a love motel for your pet. unique things for animal lovers and their furry friends. >> that's frightening. >> we'll tell you who got the big nod in the golden globe nominations, just ahead. >> let's check the traffic at the golden gate bridge. if you are coming into the city, a little heavier northbound into

marin. more to come on abc7 news.

>> all right. this is a really strange one.

police in three states are sorting through a plot to kill justin bieber. authorities in new mexico say convicted killer dana martin orchestrated this plot from his prison cell. he then enlisted a former prison bud scbe his nephew to strangle two acquaintances of martin's and then head to new york to kill bieber. martin was angry at bieber because he had written the singer several times without a response. martin was infatuated with the pop star, tattoo tooing an image of beeb or his leg. >> completly bizarre. many of your favorite stars woke up to a golden phone call. >> that's the kind you don't mind. one singer makes his permanent mark in hollywood. >> reporter: the hollywood awards races is on. the golden globe nominations were announced this morning. there is fierce competition. >> best motion picture drama... argo, jango unchained, life of pi, lincoln, zero dark 30y.

>> jessica alba, megan fox and ed helms made the announcement. check out the full list of nominees. it's a great day to be hugh jackson. he owner earned a golden globe nod and earned a star on the walk of fame. catch le mis, out christmas day. the premiere of the new comedy, this is 40. it is packed up with over-the-hill hilarity, which the stars can relate to. >> i don't think 40 is so different from 39 or anything, but it does form on the lips differently. >> some days, i am not feeling as good about it, when i see the gray hairs here and there. >> this is 40 opens december 21. keep up with your favorite stars any time. i'm on the red carpet in los angeles. >> all right. people love their dogs and a few

are orbsessed with pooches, no more than brazilians. >> a pet complex now features a love motel for dogs, featuring rooms with mirrors on the ceilings, as well as other doggie amenities for $50. >> there you can see it, the japanese soaking tub for the pooches. >> they are pampered. they are the latest status sim belle bol in brazil. it also features spas, animal day care and restaurants with doggie menus. >> i'm, i'm fido. bizarre. >> north korean leader has been voted person of the year in time magazine's readers poll. >> this is a drawing of kim kim jong un with the title little kim, receiving 5 1/2 million vote, in a completely unscientific poll. >> the magazine admits they were inflated by online campaigns.

it comes a day after north korea defied u.n. sanctions and launched a rocket into orbit. this does not mean it is times person of the year. that is made by the editors of time and will be announced next week. >> a warning for anybody with a bank account. plus -- >> san francisco launches a new domestic violence campaign, at a time when tensions can run high in homes. >> was it all a publicity stunt? claims from software pioneer john macafee about his run from authorities in central america. >> michael finney. typing on a touch screen can be frustrating. now a tablet computer accessory could end that. i will tell you whether it's

>> abc7 news with live, breaking news. >> an update on the breaking news we told you about at the beginning of the newscast in the east bay. a large fire in a fremont machine shop is in the mop-up phase. we were over the scene, shortly after flames burst out of a metal and fabricating company. located near the mission boulevard exit off interstate 680. heavy oils contributed to heavy,

thick, sooty smoke. the 60 people inside the shop, got out safely. the cause of the fire is under investigations. >> they got out before the roof collapsed of just a mess. >> the mayor wants the city to be particularly aware of domestic violence during this holiday season. >> he launched a new public awareness campaign at the end of the year in which domestic violence has received unprecedented attention in the city. mark? >> reporter: ever since the sheriff grabbed his wife's arm on new year's eve, there has been a tremendous amount of attention topaid to whether or not he should keep his job and to domestic violence issues in general. some of the sheriff's most politically empowered opponents came dignitary to launch this new domestic awareness campaign. >> domestic violence goes up during the holidays. there is a lot of depression that goes along with holidays and we understand that. peace at home is there to address that, right away. >> the mayor of joined by the board of supervisors, and the

district attorney, all three are on the record saying that ross mercurini should not be sheriff because of his conviction stemming from the argument with his wife. but the sheriff says he supports the mayor's peace at home campaign. >> we are move together and moving forward. good work is getting done. the light side and the positive side, which you are catching on camera is our toy drive at woman's resource center, affiliated with the sheriffs department. >> that's where we caught up with him he feel says he will not resign, even though there is an effort to recall him. he says he is not focuses on the recall. coming up at 6:00, we will hear from the director of the domestic violence consortium about why this campaign is needed and why it has nothing to do with the sheriff. >> all right. thank you. there is still no word on a motive for the shooting spree that killed two shoppers tuesday

at a suburban portland, oregon, mall. but friends ofia cob roberts insist he was the least likely person to go on a spree. his ex-girlfriend said he had quit his job, sold his stuff and had a plane ticket to hawaii, but got drunk and missed his flight. she says he is soft spoken and cannot imagine what made him snap. >> he is just too sweet. he was never mean to anybody -- ever. everybody loved him. >> using a stolen semi-automatic rifle and wearing a protective vest and hockey mask, he opened fire, randomly in a clackamas mall before killing himself. a wounded teenaged girl is in the hospital in serious condition. >> million airsoftware mogul john macafee is back in the u.s. he said he was only pretending to be unstable because that was his only way out of belize, where he is wanted for

questioning in a murder. we have the latest on a truly bizarre story. >> reporter: john macafee says he's broke, but not short on cash, thanks to the kindness of strangers. he sat down for an interview with abc's matt gutman. someone dropped these bills off at the hotel for him. he is staying at the beacon, in miami, arriving at in the u.s. from guatamala last night. >> they called his name and said, john macafee may you please come to the front. he walked to the front. >> reporter: he has been on the move and in the headlines for weeks. he snuck out of belize, where authorities want to question him in the murder of his neighbor, an american citizen. he slipped illegally into guatamala, only to be deported to the u.s. high tells abc, it was part of his master plan, that he faked heart problems to make it happen. what about your illness? >> what about my illness. >> was that part of the deception? >> of course. it kept me from going back to

belize. >> reporter: he faked more than that. >> what is the better story -- millionaire mad man on the run? you saved my [bleep] why? because you paid attention to the story. >> because you acted like a mad man? >> i did. and it worked. >> reporter: this is a win for macafee, he is not wanted in the u.s. and for that matter, he is not officially wanted in belize. >> not only has he not been charged. he has not been named a suspect. so at this point, there is a guy in the u.s. who belize would like to talk to. that's it. that's not an enormous legal hurdle. >> reporter: macafee says his legal woes are not his first priority. he is focusing on getting his girlfriends to the u.s -- both of them -- ages 20 and 17. >> he says he did not kill has neighbor. on his blog, he is offering a $25,000 reward to help find the real killer. >> two state police officers are in custody in mexico, accused of stealing items from the wreckage

of the plane crash that killed jenny rivera. authorities found crash scene image oses the smart phone of one of the officers, trying to determine how the reporters got photographs of the secured site. the items were found in a search of the officers' homes. they are not sure what they were. authorities turned over rivera's body to her family today. the investigators are trying to determine the cause of sunday's crash. >> british authorities say the nurse who died after a hoax call to the hospital, treating the dutchess of cambridge, hanged herself. officials today confirmed that the nurse was found hanging from a scarf at london's king edwar vii hospital on friday. three notes were found in the room. there were no suspicious circumstances. meantime, the two australian d.j.s who made the call for a protected safe houses. >> u.s. banks and brokerage firms are preparing for a threatened cyber-attack, called

blitzkrieg. there is evidence that a well-planned attack by eastern european hackers could occur in the spring or sooner. they began planting malicious software in april. $5 million has been stolen and what amounted to a test run by the hackers. the bank of america risk management department says it's operating under the assumption that an attack will take place and is defending itself accordingly. >> if you think our congress doesn't get along, take a look at what it is like in ukraine. the issues that have the lawmakers packing real punches. >> look outside, these two teens do an acoustic version of gangham style. >> mostly sunning skies from the east bay hills. get ready for another cold night. we have frost advisories in the

east bay and patchy frost likely for the morning. chilly, wet weather coming. details are coming up. >> later, a bay area family's successful effort to get the fireplace industry to make changes after their young daughter was seriously burned. >> take a look at the traffic. we are looking at a high 80 from berkeley, perched atop emeryville. slow going in both directions. right side and up towards berkeley, east bound and slow toward the city as well. toward the city as well. stay with u

and... take care of them, you know? i feel like we've come full circle. like that! this is how i'll do it. sarah: there you go.

wanted to be here for your fist christmas? you see grandma lives waaaay down here, and you live way up here. brian, your cousin, he's a little bit older than you, he lives here, in chicago. and your aunt lisa lives here, in baltimore. uncle earnie? waaay out in hawaii. but don't you worry, we will always be together for christmas. [ male announcer ] being together is the best part of the holidays and cheerios is happy to be part of the family. you just ate dallas!

>> you think fiscal cliff talks are tough in washington, check out the melee in a parliamentary debate in ukraine. lawmakers could not agree to disagree about who should be prime minister so they went at each other. when the dust settled, the opposition party lost. >> oh, boy. all right. let's get another check on the forecast right now. >> yes. >> yeah, as we look at the live doppler 7 hd, there is nothing happening here in the bay area. but we do have a few showers to the south. down between gilroy and holister, over the higher terrain. light showers right now. watch out. could be small hail. as we look at the national forecast, rain in dallas, 60 degrees, 46 in denver. chilly, 42 in salt lake city,

looking at snow. if you have travel plans, could be on the dicey side for your friday. as you look at the statewide conditions, rain is moving in towards big sur, 53 degrees. snow up to the north and the northern california mountains. 33 degrees in tahoe, snow by tomorrow night and palm springs could be looking at rain, 64 degrees. here in the bay area, it is going to be a raw day, as you will notice here, you will need the raingear and a coat or a jacket. temperatures only in the mid 40s to the low 50s at best. 51 in san francisco. 52 in san jose. but look at the north. north bay, nap a47 degrees. 49 in concord. livermore, we do have a frost advisory on friday for the inland east bay valleys. keep that in mind. watch out for icy sidewalks and, of course, frost on the windshield. you will need to bundle up and make sure have you your raingear. >> thank you. cool weather means it feels like

the holiday season, finally. that spirit is going viral. here's the utalk show, what is trending with the top videos. >> thank you. another look at the hottest videos, blowing up on youtube. first up, jimmy kimmel asks kids on the streets of hollywood to release the story of christmas. >> shooting star in the sky and it was really beautiful. >> he was born in a mansion. >> remember, you can catch more hilarity every week night at midnight. right here on, abc7. up next, acappella center stars are -- super stars are back with legendary boy band, nsync. see more tonight on our big holiday spectacular at 6:00 p.m. pacific time.

we are presenting this amazing benefit for covenant house, along with virgin mobile, with your favorite youtube stars. and that will do it for the biggest videos online. see you next time, bay area. >> all right, thanks. >> up next, a new era in television watching takes effect today. >> i'm michael finney, typing on a virtual keyboard drives some people crazy. up next, another option. the look at

[singing]. >> this is another video gaining a lot of traction today online. teenaged girl, hope and maggie are becoming web celebs with their ukulele guitar cover of gangham style. they admit they don't know what the words mean. but they got the tune down. >> good job. one of the greatest irritants of

watching television has come to an end -- are they taking me off? no! no! not yet. starting today, it's illegal for broadcasters and paid tv providers to air expressively loud commercials. >> the sfcc says all ads must have the same volume as the programs they accompany. >> we all know what this is. we have all endured it. we have all heard the ads. today is the beginning of a new era of quieter tv. >> i am going to stop shouting, also. the legislation called the commercial advertisement loudness mitigation or calm, for short, mandated the change, back in 2010. >> but now, it's official. >> yes. >> consumer respects has a report on the tablet keyboards. >> reporter: tablets are easy to take with you everywhere. >> yeah. >> reporter: thus your proof.

but typing on a touch screen, especially for long periods of time, can be frustrating. so if you have a tablet lover, or if you are looking to make your own life easier, a keyboard may be the perfect holiday gift. >> typing on a virtual keyboard can drive some people virtually crazy. >> i want to bang my head against the wall. it's crazy. >> reporter: it's a common complaint. when microsoft unveiled the new surface tablet tofferred two keyboards for sale, right from the get-go. consumer reports says both have full-sized keys, are thin and light and double as a cover. if you already have a tablet and want a separate keyboard, there are option there is. charlie davidman, an electronics expert at consumer respects, looked at four more keyboards from targeus, logitech. >> they offer a physical keyboard and keys you don't often find on a tablet.

>> reporter: like a tab key and dedicated number and symbol functions. the $65 targeus keyboard works with ipad or android. it's maul and light with virtually the same size keys as a typical laptop. it runs on triple-a batteries. >> the down side is that it doesn't act as a case or a stamp. so you are lugging around an extra accessory. >> reporter: for a bit more, consider a $100 mariel zagunisfolio case, one for later ipads or android. it has large keys and doubles as a stand. plus it latches securely. the carbon fiber case... feels very protective. >> now when you go to buy a keyboard, check its compatibility with the tablet that you plan to pair it with, particularly if you have an earlier model. all the keyboards consumer reports tested are bluetooth compatible and can be used

wirelessly. you like the looks of those. >> the last one looks great with the protective case and the keyboard. >> they make a big difference. >> a new study shows that more pedestrians are talking or texting while crossing busy streets. 26% out of more than 1,000 walkers used devices, going through intersections. their study shows that distracted walkers failed to observe safety rules. simple ones like looking for cars. this week, the federal government reported that the deaths are increasing and the study is in the journal injury prevention. >> you see the people walking around. >> still ahead, bay area family's effort to warn others about the dangers of gas fireplaces after their young daughter was severely burned. >> an early holiday gift for san francisco students. teachers have a learning tool to use. >> dan ashley in the newsroom, new at 5:00, the one type of tobacco use on the reads for

california teenagers and the biggest reason why. >> and the bay area startup, delivering a build-it-yourself doll house and teaching the building blocks of an engineering career. stay with us. the news at 4:00 continues in just a mom

>> a big change is coming to glass-fronted gases fireplaces, new guidelines will be published in the n-few weeks. >> the hope is that will stop the thens of burn injuries caused by these fireplaces every year. >> reporter: larry, a fireplace industry group estimates there are 11 million gas-fronted gas fireplaces in the u.s. and more than half of the owners don't realize touching that glass could cause severe burns. the industry has responded to mounting pressure and lawsuits to do something about that by launching a consumer education campaign. that started last month. and it's adopting new voluntary

standards of permanently attached screens or barriers beginning 2015. one of the lawsuits that has led to the change was brought by the whelanfamily in san francisco. in 2010, their 21-month-old daughter got third degree burns on their hands. the fireplace was accidentally turned on when the older brother accidentally put the fireplace on with the remote. the whelans wished the manufacturer had done more to warn and protect them. >> i think the industry will take it on. i mean, there has been -- at least one class-action lawsuit thaty woo know of. i think that they will change, and they will educate the public >> we talked to the father today. we will have more at 6:00 with his reaction to the industry's safety campaign and plans to add permanent screens. in the newsroom, abc7 news. >> thanks. students and teachers at james

lake middle school in san francisco, eagerly opened stacks of amazon kindls, thanks to the generosity of a bank, allowing the students to check them out to read books they don't have in print. >> they do good things. for english learners, they will speak the words after they are read. >> the bank is donating 65 kindles and they gave the school a 700 gift card, so the teachers can buy more electronic books, set up by the san francisco education fund, which recruits businesses to donate needed items to schools. >> check out the scene of st. mary's medical school. volunteers were there to help firefighters pack up hundreds of toys, donated to patients and staff. so much to choose from here. more than 700 from barbies to giant stuffed animals. at least week's giveaway, the firefighters toy program ran out of gifts, so the need is great.

they are still collecting toys. the firefighters toy program expects to help more than 50,000 families this year. now, to find a toy drive near you, visit our web site. and click under see it on tv. >> yesterday, we were out at the holiday food drive and you know, you don't think about it, some of these are just like silent crisis, but food and toys for kids, so important this time of year. >> and help join the effort. >> thanks for joining us for abc7 news at 4:00. >> abc7 gift to you this holiday season is a host of free apps for smart phones and tablets that hopefully, one of your loved ones will be getting fur. carolyn? >> i will get you a free app. you can download our hit alarm clock app for your iphone or android or the tablet. and that's available for all of those deviceses as well as the ipad. >> i was hoping for the

ipad. >> i knew it. >> you can download our apps for free. the news at 5:00 starts right now with dan and sheryl. >> thank you. an east bay business goes up in smoke in a fire that could be seen for miles. we will have live coverage on the health scare it caused. >> frosty cold tonight and chilly rain tomorrow. i will have a look at the weekend forecast, coming up. >> san francisco's police chief tells abc7 news the first ting ting -- thing he did after one of his officers may have gone on ia 100-mile-per-hour joyride. >> a fremont business is evacuated as thick, black smoke and ferocious flames raced out of the complex. this is how the major fire looked at its peak this afternoon. good evening. >> the fremont machine shop is

just gutted today. we go live on the scene with more on the story. >> well, when firefighters got here, they were, of course, very concerned about that roof. the building here was completely enghufled with flames and, of course, they were right, the roof did eventually collapse. when the fire began, there were about 60 employees inside that building, all of them were successfully evacuated. no one was injured. now, cnh enterprises, a machine shop which produces component, mainly aluminum, used in the semiconductor industry. toxic fumes were released into the air. >> i think the reason we were seeing that heavy, black smoke was all the combustible oil, flammable liquid and gases. >> reporter: now, these are the first pictures we have of the side of the building. completely open because, of course, the roof collapsed. those are storage racks.

now, the company says tell try to resume operations, as soon as possible. >> we have to get some temporary equipment in there and get the people working again. but, yeah. it's devastating. you know, you look at this and this is amazing how fast it all went up. >> i'm really devastated. you know. it's just my job -- i don't know, i don't know what to say or what to do right now. >> it's devastating. >> >> reporter: the company told me it has good insurance. employerees will be covered. they will continue to be paid and the company told me, they will meet tomorrow morning with employees to try to figure out a plan on how to resume again, operations, as soon as possible. so far, the cause, unknown. i'm live in fremont. >> thanks very much. here are the pictures from cnh enterprises web site, showing what the machine shop looked like before the fire. a nice facility. the company says it specializes in fabricating parts and has an on-site weld